Getting a new phone...

hi everyone.

it's almost time to turn in my venerable original Droid for a new phone. i would love some recommendations about good replacements. i am on verizon and am fine with the service and price of the plan i'm on (unlimited data! although i'd probably go with a 1 or 2 gig plan if i can't have unlimited).

things that are important

-functional. my droid constantly hangs and sits, even after stripping almost everything off of it. this is problematic when the two things i use it for the most is messaging/calling and gps navigation.

-actually a decent phone. the droid's call quality and antennae strength was far worse than on my wife's free feature phone. not good. also battery strength was weak at best.

-durable. the droid is a nice little brick with a good cover on it. i have never had an issue with the durability of the screen or body. i don't want something that's not able to be knocked around a bit.

-not a tablet. i need a phone, not a computer. it has to fit in my pocket.

-price. i don't want to spend insane amounts of cash if i can avoid it. preferably under a hundred dollars, but i'll go 150$ if it's super amazing AND brand new.

things that aren't important

-modding or rooting. don't care. if i want to root something i'll play with my modded consoles.

-insane crazy app support. i like apps, obviously, but i'm not one of those guys that needs everything. the only ones i use on my phone right now are gps, google reader, TFLN, an eve online integration thingie, and a clock. i don't need more than that.

i was thinking of either the iphone 4, samsung stratosphere, or the droid bionic - all 50$ new. thoughts? for reference, i've got a 50$ credit towards a phone, and i think that goes up if i wait the full two years, so that gives you a guesstimate as to what price range i'm looking at.

iPhone if you want to have audio apps like "Figure".

But you won't find an iPhone 4 for 50$.

sure i will. that's one of the current verizon prices - 100$, and i get 50$ off.

from doug:

Hey Brad,

Just from looking at what you posted, I will say this--you're not going to get good battery life unless you get an iphone or the newest droid RAZR MAXX from Motorola that advertises it's battery life. I'm surprised you had the iphone on your list, considering you're looking for something thats like, 150 bucks max--iphones are expensive (unless you're thinking the old one, not the 4s)!! Also, iphones are prone to broken glass, and the first iphone 4 did have the antenna problem (though that's fixable with the bumper case).

I had a droid x for about two years, which was fine until recently when I finally broke the screen (after two years of constant dropping), my headphone jack got loose, and one of the buttons broke (from constant back button mashing). Other than the headphone jack, all of those things were pretty much my fault. No matter what you get, you'll want to get a good case if you're concerned about durability.

I just upgraded to the HTC Thunderbolt this past winter. One thing that's great about the droid phones is that they're constantly becoming obsolete. I paid less for my Thunderbolt than I did for my X when I first got it, and it by far outperforms the droid X. My only gripe is battery life--once again, you're not going to get good battery life from any of these, unless it's an iphone or droid RAZR MAXX.

Personally, I recommend avoiding Motorola--it was good at first, but I was never a big fan of the interface, and after a while it started getting buggy. I haven't worked with the samsung phones yet, but they seem pretty solid. That being said, I do remember looking at the stratosphere when looking up phone info online and not being too impressed--you can get a phone with better stuff inside for the same price. I really like HTC--this phone has always been very smooth and I haven't had any problems with it so far. You may wanna consider adding the rezound to your list.

I don't think you can go wrong with the phones you've listed... maybe ditch the samsung because it's got the least processing power and storage space of them all. If you go iPhone, take care of that screen--you'll need to get a case anyway (or at least a bumper) to combat the signal problems. Even though I said I'm not a big fan of the bionic, that's definitely a solid choice.

Good luck!

-Doug

so it looks like i'm adding the rezound to the list, and possibly the thunderbolt (gotta check current prices).

any other ideas?

HTC or Samsung is the way to go. I have an older droid incredible, and love it to pieces. Literally. I've dropped the thing several times, and parts of the back case are missing, but it's still chugging along like the monster it is. My wife has the incredible 2 and it's filling every need of hers, and has spare battery power. She only charges it once every other day, whereas I have to put mine on the power teat every night, and that's with a power saving app that my wife doesn't even need.

I am using the HTC Incredible 2 right now. It was actually on sale for FREE at Best Buy a few months ago, with a two-year plan or extension. Now I believe you can get it for $50-100 easy. Jill has one as well. It's lightweight, snappy and functional with pretty good battery life (better than Thunderbolt or other 4G phones - this one is only single-core and 3G, but about as fast as a single-core will get.) I use mine every day for Gmail and internet, plus call quality is quite good overall on Verizon. I NEVER get dropped calls. Even the camera is quite solid.

I do recommend getting a simple rubber/rigid case for it. I've dropped mine a few times onto solid floors with no problems. Highly recommended.

Edit: Just noticed Max posted the same thing. So yea, get an Inc2.

i have the galaxy s1, or whatever its called. Nothing but a pain the ass....may be better now though who knows. I'll probably get an iphone when its time

I've had the HTC Thunderbolt for a little over a year now and have been thoroughly impressed with it. The only thing I can complain about is the battery life leaves a bit to be desired. I usually charge it while I'm at work though, so it's not a huge deal for me. Unless you plan on watching movies on it all day, it should be adequate for phone, text, email, and moderate web browsing/app use for a day. But you'll be hard pressed to fine an android smartphone with great battery life anyway, so it kind of goes with the territory (unless you buy one of those obnoxious extended life batteries, which turns your phone into an oversized brick).

I would also highly recommend getting a 4G phone if you live in a Verizon 4G LTE area. The speeds are ridiculously faster than 3G. I know a few other people have recommended the HTC Incredible 2, which is a great phone, but it's only 3G. Trust me, the additional speeds of 4G are well worth it if you will be doing a lot of web browsing.

Overall, I've had two HTC smartphones and have been happy with them, both from a build quality standpoint and user-friendly UI (they have the best android skin, IMO). Some of the newer Samsung and Motorola droids seem to be pretty good as well, but I can't speak personally to them.

Oh man, I totally overlooked the Incredible 2! The incredible and the droid x were about the same (x might have been a little more powerful) in terms of junk inside the phones, so the inc 2 is a really good choice.

I don't get 4G where I live in Kansas, but when I do have 4G signal, I always use it. If you get a 4G phone, there are apps you can download to help you quickly toggle between 4G service and regular 3G service if you're not in a 4G area. 4G can drain your battery life if your phone is constantly scanning for it, so it's a good idea to have a toggle to keep it from doing that.

But yeah, the download speeds are uh maze ing

I know this is a little off-topic but those that are getting terrible battery life and don't want to buy a brand new phone really should look into rooting. Most of the problems regarding battery life is due to HTC's mismanagement of memory and all-around bloatware apps that they force upon you that are either marked as important services that are constantly running in the background. My sister and Mom both got that cheap version of the Galaxy S phone from T-mobile, and it was constantly locking up just with normal use. I rooted them, and either removed or froze all the bloatware and they run like new, with "twice the battery life".

For me, I have an HTC Sensation 4G rooted with an Ice Cream Sandwich ROM. Even without rooting, it's an awesome phone. I think almost a year old, but I'm not sure about the current prices. The screen on it is awesome, I think it's got the same pixel density as a retina display, but I'm not for sure on that. If it's not, it's dang close.

for reference:

-thunderbolt isn't offered as an upgrade phone for verizon currently. i'd have to get it special.

-incredible 2 is free (LOL)

-rezound is 50$

in terms of 4g, the only ones under 50$ are the bionic, rezound, and charge, and the next one up is the spectrum, razr, and droid 4 at 149 per.

looks like the incredible 2 and the rezound are the frontrunners currently. should i go with the better network speed with the rezound and futureproof myself, or go with an incredible 2 and get proven quality but not the top-end stuff i might need in two years?

edit: as i'm looking more, i like the rezound more and more. less than half the radiation, 1280x720 screen, bigger battery than incredible or thunderbolt (bionic is much bigger), etc.

i might get the i2 for the wife since it'll be 50$ for her, but i haven't decided. right now, though, rezound is looking super boss for super cheap.

edit 2: rezound is a 150$ off deal until tonight at midnight...we'll see what The Lady says when i talk to her later.

ok, time to actually buy.

rezound is 80$. preowned razr is 100$. preowned droid 4 is 50$. iphone 4 (not 4s) is 50$. incredible A is free.

i'm thinking the rezound is the way to go. yes/no?

ok, time to actually buy.

rezound is 80$. preowned razr is 100$. preowned droid 4 is 50$. iphone 4 (not 4s) is 50$. incredible A is free.

i'm thinking the rezound is the way to go. yes/no?

we went with the rezound for me and the iphone 4 for her. i wanted her to get a phone that was technophobe-proof, with GPS and a decent camera for...upcoming events. i wanted a decent phone, period. looks like we got a good deal overall.

I love my iPhone 4.

I'm up for an upgrade soon myself, and the best phones on Verizon right now are the Droid Razr MAXX, Samsung Galaxy Nexus, and HTC Rezound.

Razr MAXX features:

- RIDICULOUS battery life. You can pretty much go 2 days at a time before you need a charge.

- AMOLED screen. High color saturation (this is good or bad depending on whom you ask), better in direct sunlight, great blacks.

- Smart Actions. Lets you set up stuff like reminders or turning off your data based on time/location triggers.

Galaxy Nexus features:

- 720p AMOLED display. It's basically Retina resolution.

- Stock Android. No bloat, and you'll always be first in line for official Android OS updates.

- Near Field Communication (Google Wallet)

- No-lag camera shutter.

- Memory is not expandable. Comes in 16GB and 32GB versions.

Rezound features:

- 720p LCD display. Blacks aren't as deep and not as good in sunlight, but more accurate color reproduction. Also no PenTile cross-hatching effect.

- Beats Audio (makes music sound better I guess). Also comes with iBeats earphones (supposedly worth ~$100).

- GPS lock is supposedly very fast.

Edit: Oh looks like you already bought. Oh well, maybe this well help other Verizon peeps later.

Of course the Galaxy III comes out this summer...

I'm coming up for an upgrade myself, but I can't justify springing for a 4G phone and a new contract. I managed to get an unlimited data plan right before they went away, and I want to hold onto that for as long as I possibly can.

Whenever someone posts about their new phone on Facebook ask them if they're doing anything with their old one.

I'm coming up for an upgrade myself, but I can't justify springing for a 4G phone and a new contract. I managed to get an unlimited data plan right before they went away, and I want to hold onto that for as long as I possibly can.

I hear ya on that - because I'm on Verizon, that means I will be forced to pay full price on any new phone now. Share Everything is such bullshit.

sure i will. that's one of the current verizon prices - 100$, and i get 50$ off.

from doug:

so it looks like i'm adding the rezound to the list, and possibly the thunderbolt (gotta check current prices).

any other ideas?

I couldnt disagree about Motorola more, i would not recommend any other DROID phone. When i upgraded, Everyone told me to get the Newest Samsung phone and despite my hatred for Samsung phones, i caved and got it. Worst mistake ever, Eventually, Verizon was kind enough to swap my phone for the Motorola Bionic which i LOVE. My next upgrade will probably be the Maxx.